Fort Point, Rodeo Cove at Sunset, & Marin Headlands Long Exposure

2013.01.06

Day One Hundred and Five. Headed back up to SF for some more night shooting. Before it got dark, stopped in to Fort Point to have a quick look around. For some reason, I thought it'd be fun to do a bunch of HDR shooting on subjects (which in retrospect) were in no need of HDR, leaving me with a lot of frames to sort through for little to no gain. I did keep on of the HDRs, but the rest were sent to the circular file, since a properly exposed image looked better. There's more to Fort Point than I'd initially thought and ended up having a really good time exploring. Shooting from the roof top provides for a spectacular view in all directions, just don't get caught by a park ranger (more than once). After getting lots of great shots of the city and the bridge, we headed across said bridge to Rodeo Cove for the sun set, which is an absolutely beautiful area. I experimented some with the ND filter to smooth out the water. Some of them came out quite well, some not so much. Exposure is tricky with the ND filter. It's really easy to subtly overexpose and not be able to see it until I get back and look at on a larger screen. After the sun went down, we drove around to the Marin Headlands (a generic name for a tonne of spots just across the bridge from SF, Hawk Hill (actually go up the hill) and Battery Spencer being the most popular). While up there, I borrowed the 16mm f/2.8 fisheye. I was waffling about whether to get it or not - no longer. I am so sold, I can't describe it. The 180° viewing angle really is something to behold. Overall, I'm really happy with how this set turned out. I only wish I could have stayed and let the star trails run longer, but alas, it was dinner time :D